


Where The Devil Rests: The Sixth Calamity

by HisokaXHuntah



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Anime, Gen, HisokaXHuntah, Nen, Togashi, dark continent, hunterxhunter - Freeform, hxh - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-20 23:34:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13728378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HisokaXHuntah/pseuds/HisokaXHuntah
Summary: After an illegal trip to the Dark Continent, a mysterious being is brought back with a small group of Hunters hired by a strange man. After the Hunter Association catches wind, Marco Delanus and the Hunters on board must make use of his wit and experience as a Hunter to hide the specimen from their illegal expedition - but such a thing had no business of being found.





	1. Prologue + Chapter One

By HisokaXHuntah  


## Prologue

The harbor bell rung with perseverance as the squall howled in defiance to its welcoming toll. We had just ported on a manmade island about 90 miles from illegal waters that bordered by the Dark Continent. My client hired me through my agent for a job assisting his crew in transporting different specimen, stratum and substances that they were to excavate far north of the Dark Continent. I was accompanied by another fellow whom caused a bit of a stir on our boat here; his name was Henri Losphult. While being debriefed by our informant, we were told this mission was to be kept off the books and hush hush. If the V5 caught wind of this, we could all face very severe punishments. 

Our client was a resident of Sahelta, a very outspoken country and quick to jail their citizens for even the slightest of rule breaking. I can’t even imagine what they would do if someone disobeyed one of their heavily placed sanctions. No doubt they would contact the Hunter Association and get any Hunters involved into serious trouble, meaning my neck was on the line. But that’s what it meant to be a Hunter. I relished at the chance to become involved with an expedition to the Dark Continent, but it seems even the informant was caught off guard when we found out they had left a few months from the scheduled date. 

After avoiding international waters patrol like the plague, we had only just managed to make it to the port. Henri was angry that they neglected to mention that they had left early, but I wasn’t all that surprised. Our client obviously wanted to venture to the Dark Continent without anybody noticing and to stay idle to a deadline would increase their risk of getting caught. 

I learned Henri was an Enhancer during the debriefing. We were not obligated to mention our Nen abilities since it was already mentioned during the pre-screening, but Henri insisted on letting us know of his accomplishments. They were certainly impressive; he helped discover the Dragonwhisp Lilyroot, an herb responsible for the cure of most degenerative brain diseases and wrote a paper on advanced Ko application to protect vital organs from sustaining impact. It is widely regarded in the Hunter Association. Chairman Netero himself praised Henri for his natural affinity for Nen. Upon further research that I took upon myself, I learned he was apart of a revolution in his home country when he was younger. The military training seemed to still be gripping him by the balls, as he wore his military beret in a quiet pride. He was smug about his accomplishments, and rightfully so. However, I was not obligated to mention anything to him nor did I intend to. You never really know when a friend may become an enemy in this line of work. 

“We better be getting paid, damn it.” He muttered, looking up at me. His eyes were difficult to make out through the settling fog. 

The squall picked up in intensity and begun to turn into a bad storm judging by the deep rumbles in the sky. We were told to go inside on one of the decks on the man made island and await further instructions. The informant went to contact our client and left the two of us alone. 

“Storm’s really picking up.” He muttered. It was obvious he was trying to get to know me, probably for the sake of social obligation. 

“Indeed it is.” I responded. “The storm seemed to have came out of nowhere.” 

Henri lifted his bushy eyebrow. “We are close to forbidden waters; the weather changes as fast as you blink your eye according to the reports.” I nodded my head in agreement. 

I then recalled something. 

“Speaking of reports, they headed North, right? Wasn’t there an expedition that was conducted there once and only 2 people survived?” 

Henri pulled out a cigar and chuckled in response to the grim question I posed. “The plant weapon Brion.” He put the cigar in his mouth and lit it with a Zippo lighter. “Poor bastards didn’t know what they got themselves into.”  
I watched as he took deep puffs of the potent smelling smoke and exhaled. Very few people actually inhaled cigar smoke, but it certainly didn’t seem to bother him. 

“Luckily our client didn’t go into that death trap” Henri said in a tone of slight disappointment. Despite his previous comment, he also really wanted to go on the expedition for reasons beyond money.

I sighed, sharing his frustration, and looked out at sea. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. A clash of dark greys and blackness melting into each other with complex patterns of lightning in the distance. It was like a jumbled set of neurons firing haphazardly and it was headed straight for us.

The brunt of the storm had not hit the man made island yet, and I awaited our informant to return with news from our client. I heard Henri mutter “bastard” to himself, followed by a strange howling from outside. It was rather unsettling, as it sounded more like a wounded beast fighting off death itself than just bad wind. 

“Well thankfully they went around the labyrinth city and headed to the frozen mountains there to collect samples.” I said in monotone, mindlessly regurgitating what I had just heard in the debriefing. I didn’t really care in that moment. I was getting entranced by the rapidly shifting shapes of the dark clouds approaching us. 

“Mountains? Pah!” Henri snorted. “I thought you did your homework, kid.” 

I closed my eyes in annoyance to his “kid” comment.

“Those weren't mountains!” He had a good 18 years on me at least, but his smugness certainly didn’t make things better. I knew in that moment that I rued the day in ever trying to make small talk with an Enhancer. Henri continued his response.

“The last expedition that was sent off to check out the labyrinth city sent two people to venture around and to head farther north.” I realized Henri had access to these reports that were supposed to be classified. He didn’t get this info by any conventional or legal means.  
“At first they thought they were mountains. They had an unusual concentration of ice, despite it being impossible due to the temperature displacement. Upon closer inspection, they observed the mountains were, in fact, something else entirely.” 

 

Henri’s hand suddenly appeared in front of my face holding a phone. I was no longer entranced by the clouds and was back in my current predicament of being left behind. I calmly grabbed the phone and looked at it. I did my best to understand what it was I was looking at. The first picture were mountains, but they had very pointed and sleek peaks. They almost looked like pyramids, except they were all conjoined together to make what appeared to be a super structure. The ice was an unnaturally polished white and very cleancut; there was virtually no debris. The mountain-like structures seemed to go on for a great distance. However, what truly threw me off was the the next picture. I could hear Henri chuckling heartily at my facial expression. “Exactly what I did when I saw that.”

The second picture was actually comparing two separate images simultaneously; the first half showed a relief etched into a solid white wall. It was very impressive work that I would hesitate to believe it was ancient; it showed several large beings holding a small circular object with a detailed line going up into the being holding it. It was very simple yet highly detailed; however, I couldn’t make out the bottom of the relief as it seemed more like a random amalgamation of lines. I found it hard to believe that it was made on normal material for it to still look so polished. I suspected the ice was not quite ice but some sort of substance that preserves objects that has the properties of ice; but it was just speculation.  
I heard Henri lean from his chair to which I turned my head to him. “It’s very beautiful, almost hauntingly so. However, the second half completely destroys that pleasant imagery.” 

Henri nodded in agreement, exhaling a huge cloud of smoke from his cigar; it smelled like an expensive wood mixed with some sort of cherry. I gazed back down and analyzed the second half of the comparison photo and in mild disgust. 

It was an artistic rendition of the relief, except the crisp white and simple lines were replaced with an ethereal and twisted color scheme. The now-detailed entities were something out of the disturbed mind of a mental patient and there was something else different in this second half that wasn’t present in the relief in the first half; there was a human child on the floor. I thought that portion of the relief was just lines with no purpose but the disturbed artist seems to have envisioned his own warped interpretation. 

“You said they sent two people to investigate beyond the labyrinth city?” I said, recollecting my thoughts. 

Henri reached his hand out for his phone which I promptly gave to him. “They were the two survivors of that expedition, you know. One of them was the one who drew the second part of the relief sometime after returning home. He went missing about a year after.” 

Henri wasn’t chuckling this time. 

He too seemed to be mesmerized by the increasing pace of the wind and darkened clouds twisting in our direction. It was then that Henri’s eyes widened. Something out at sea caught his attention. I turned my head out into the distance and was greeted with a faint light in the darkness. It was a large cargo ship, though it still had good distance before reaching us. 

“My good Hunters” a voice projected behind us. It was the informant. “Our client has returned and will soon dock.” Henri laughed heartily in relief while I observed the informant. He was very relaxed and seemed to not be bothered by our client returning with no problems. 

“Were there any complications?” I asked. The informant shook his head but said something that startled me. 

 

“No. But it does appear that they found something.” 

## Chapter One - Proscribed Coterie

The cargo ship was much larger up close. Upon docking, we were greeted by a small group of personnel who instructed us to come aboard. Once they resupplied on the fabricated island, they would begin their journey back home. Our client, Mr. Faust Bedoz, was a resourceful man. The man made island would slowly disintegrate once he gave the word to set off a chemical compound which broke down the island that would be eventually be absorbed into the sea by becoming ions that make up the base of sea water. Henri was not impressed and begun to talk about his accomplishments as a Nen user. 

Henri’s Nen ability had the ability to enhance or “dehance” the temperature of an object. This meant several things; first he didn’t quite have the ability to control temperature. Rather, he had the ability to control when and how fast an object's temperature can decline or rise. This gave him two options; he could retard heat or cold, or accelerate heat or cold but not control temperature itself. In order for the ability to work, the object must be in an environment where cause and effect permits a certain temperature change. In other words, he couldn’t cool down something on fire but he could retard the rate at which an object would burn. He made it abundantly clear this wasn’t his main hatsu in an act to conserve his pride, but he did mention how one time he killed an opponent who had a fever by accelerating the rate of the fever to the point of death.

I walked on board and was shown around the facilities. Several crew members were donned in thick jackets no doubt still feeling traces of their freezing expedition, running in a hurry to the other end of the cargo ship to report on the stratum they analyzed. The personnel took us down the starboard and down a set of steps. The ship was brimming with the smell of the ocean and gasoline. As we went down the metallic staircase, the smell dramatically shifted to cleaning chemicals and rust. There were a great deal of men and women managing the software and radio frequencies of the ship. This was how they remained undetected by satellites and radar. 

I observed a tall lean woman wearing a tanktop, camo pants and boots meditating just behind the men and women working on their computers. Upon using Gyo, I saw her emitting Nen almost like radar waves. She must have played a key role in staying hidden from any surveillance through some sort of anti-radar. They were all obviously military trained. 

We went through the steam room past some workers below deck and went down another flight of stairs. This was where the living quarters were. One of the women guiding us asked if we would like to settle in our rooms. 

Henri and I both looked at each other and smirked. We were tired of settling. 

The woman nodded her head and continued to guide us. The rest of the personnel filed in front of a large set of steel doors on each side while the woman leading us stopped. 

She stopped just in front and parted ways with us. “Welcome aboard the Gyllis Prime!” 

I inferred they were not given clearance to enter the room and only served to handle the minor duties aboard the Gyllis Prime. Henri, who was adamant about being the one up front, opened the door and I followed right behind him. What a sight I beheld. 

It felt like I was in a space station. The walls of the room were entirely digitized screens, with an insane amount of logistics, infographics, charts, temperature readings, and other numbers were jolting around, albeit it was more akin to controlled chaos. I noticed they followed pre-linear paths that ended up on certain parts of the room. There was a small group of 7 or 8 people observing all the data on the second floor, inputting their findings, and sending the data to another person to observe. Directly in the middle of the room was a large table with five individuals and at the head of the table, a stout but well dressed man. The other four were sitting at the table, silent and covered in residue dirt from their adventure. 

The stout man turned his head and seemed to jump for joy. “Ah, yes! Welcome fellow Hunters! Yes, please make yourselves comfortable!!” 

The other five individuals turned their heads and looked at us. They were ready to eat us alive. The look on their faces showed they braved impossible odds. I was in the presence of other Pro Hunters who ventured to the Dark Continent and lived to tell about it; I had so many questions.

We were then gestured to take a seat at the large table. Henri and I sat at opposite ends of the table, directly facing each other. Henri was next to a rather muscular Hunter who undoubtedly was also an Enhancer judging by his size. I found myself next to a rather plump, dark skinned fellow who seemed like he was ready to take a nap in his seat. A young woman, one of the people observing the data from the digitized walls, had approached the stout, well dressed man. She handed him a large stack of papers and folders. Upon hearing her address the man, I knew my assumption was correct; he was none other my client, Mr. Bedoz. 

After the young women finished whispering in his ear, he nodded his head. “Very good.” he muttered in confidence.  
She then left the table, and all I could see were beasts looking at us curiously as to whether we would make a good meal. 

“Mr. Henri Losphult! It is a pleasure to have you aboard our vessel!” Mr. Bedoz spoke aloud, breaking the growing tension. 

Henri closed his eyes and smirked, putting his hands on his head in smug pride. “Pleasures all mine. Though I wish you guys didn’t ditch us like that.” 

Mr. Bedoz chuckled heartily. A couple of the Hunters at the table seemed amused and laughed as well. It seemed not all of them were as vicious as previously thought. 

“Well” Mr. Bedoz sighed in relief, rubbing his sweaty red face with a handkerchief. “I’ll explain to you in a moment.” He then looked at me. I braced myself for the attention that was about to be directed towards me. I detested being put on the spot, more so than I realized until I was in these very situations. 

“And of course.. Mr. Marco Delanus, I’ve heard great things about you from the Hunter Association!” 

I feigned a half smile, my gaze looking across the table. “Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Bedoz.” I politely replied. It was difficult to surmount if my uncomfortable feelings were obvious. 

Mr. Bedoz put his handkerchief back in his pocket and his expression took on a more serious manner. “I’m sure you share Mr. Losphult’s sentiment?” I paused briefly, then nodded my head yes. 

“I’ve heard your abilities are most interesting indeed, Mr. Delanus.” Mr. Bedoz clasped his hands together and placed them on the table. “So interesting in fact that I realized you were better suited for the voyage back home rather than the expedition.” 

 

I could feel Henri’s gaze upon me. I averted my eyes briefly to his. He was staring at me with a perplex determination; he probably didn’t remember my name and judging the little bit I already knew from him, he wanted to know what my Nen abilities were. I slowly shifted my gaze across the table and seeing the other two Hunters on his side of the table. The large muscular man next to him was looking at me but with a rather blank expression but next to him was a short woman with bushy hair.

I couldn’t really see her eyes as her hair draped over them, but her head was pointed downward; She looked like she was asleep! 

“Well, Mr. Delanus” I heard Henri say mockingly. “I didn’t know you were so popular! What Nen category do you fall under?” I rolled my eyes. “Conjurer!” Mr. Bedoz proclaimed. I looked and saw he was reading one of the various documents on the table. He began prying into the more detailed aspects of myself for the entire table to hear. I clenched my fist under the table in great annoyance. 

“Marco Delanus, age 28, single starred Beast Hunter currently being considered for a double star after his groundbreaking discovery of a new species of Magical Beast that disguises itself as local wildlife..” Mr. Bedoz paused to clear his throat, then continued reading. “Marco has created numerous rehabilitation facilities for endangered Beasts being poached and the inventor of the Nen Wildlife Rehabilitator, a room in which Nen is used to recuperate Beasts and animals alike from trauma, biological injury, infection, and parasitic infestation. Currently awaiting human trials.”

The plump dark skinned man jerked his head and looked directly at me. “Get the hell out of here!” he shouted in excitement. The room was momentarily silent. I wasn’t sure how to respond to the man's sudden brash attention towards me. “You’re THAT Marco Delanus?! MAN, what a treat!!” He was very jubilant; I could tell by the shimmer in his eyes that he was a kind soul. 

“Fernus!” chuckled Mr. Bedoz. “I hadn’t seen you this excited since our chefs made those biscuits you loved for lunch!” 

Fernus ignored the old man's quips and continued talking. “My name is Fernus Nottingham. I’m also a Beast Hunter, but I’m not quite as involved in the field as you are.” He said sheepishly. “You’re in luck, cause we didn’t really encounter any Beasts along the way aside from the flying creatures in this entire area and beyond towards the Dark Continent...but man do I have stories!!” 

We had begun to discuss the many bizarre rumored creatures encountered in the Dark Continent. He went on about the Managuano Centipede, an alleged specimen that Fernus had investigated. It emerges out of the rectum of victims who breathe in the eggs which float like spores. When it exits its host, it is said to feel like a normal bowel movement until the jittering of tiny legs and long retracting antennas was were felt shortly after the pain of your rectum being ripped. Most victims don’t die but their rectums are left in a state of disrepair. There was a small infestation on a fishing island not too far from here that local fisherman contracted that he had to help purge; whatever that means. 

Mr. Bedoz cleared his throat. Fernus jerked forward and laughed nervously. “Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t mean to get so carried away! Sorry if the conversation was inappropriate!” Henri laughed along with Fernus and I. 

The other Hunters were silent; the large muscular man finally spoke. “There’s no need to lie to them, Fernus.” he said. “We most certainly did encounter a Beast.” Fernus looked confused at the man and then realized what he had meant. “Well, I guess but we still don’t know - “ 

Mr. Bedoz rose out of his chair. “Not another word!” he said aggressively. “We will talk about that in due time.” 

I was immediately piqued, as was Henri who crossed his arms and was not looking to be jerked around anymore. “What the hell are you going on about? What did you encounter out there?” The large muscular man next to Henri was physically bigger than him, but Henri did not seem intimidated by his size. “I think Marco and I have the right to know what it is we are being used for.” 

The muscular man nodded his head in agreement. However, a voice that I hadn’t hear chimed in. 

“Mr. Bedoz just said you were going to find out in due time. Be patient. Your job doesn’t require you to know every single thing involved in the mission aside from what you were assigned to do.” 

I turned my head behind Fernus and saw a rather young woman, around the same age as me in fact. She had long purple hair and judging from her harsh tone, had a fiery personality. 

However, Henri didn’t seem to care. “Excuse me miss, but I don’t give a damned what you think should be appropriate or not. I was promised a trip to the Dark Continent and was jipped out of that, so the least you people could do is fill us in.” 

Mr. Bedoz tried to end the feud but it was already too late. He stammered his words but the purple hair girl fired back. 

“It’s not my fault you two were disqualified from the expedition mission and were used for utility roles. Therefore, I’m not entitled to tell you anything. Just shut up, do your job and there won’t be any problems.”

Henri lifted his furry eyebrows. His eyes looked like an eagle ready to swoop in on its prey. “Problems from who, you? That’s hardly much of a threat. Way I see it, there’s already a problem. I have a very short temper, so I would love to avoid ripping your tongue out.” The purple haired girl laughed in defiance and shot out of her chair. “Oh yeah, bushy eyed geezer? Try it!” She proceeded to stick her tongue out and make an “mmmmmmm” sound. 

Fernus sighed and massaged his temples. “Alistahr, just let it go. I really don’t want to have a repeat of what happened to that personnel attendant..”. 

She stopped sticking her tongue out and looked at Fernus. “That bastard had no business telling me I had forgotten my supply bag! I told him I didn’t need it so there!” She clearly had issues, coupled with her aggressive personality made her a bit too much for my liking. 

“Alistahr, can you just be quiet for once.” Said the large muscular man. He spoke very calmly. Perhaps I was wrong about him being an Enhancer? 

“Yeah, bitch. Nobody wants to smell your nasty breath.” chuckled Henri. Alistahr gasped in offense and was ready to go on a tangent regarding some choice words, but we all went silent just before she spoke.

“SHUT UP!” shrieked the bushy haired girl. She must have woken up. She clearly had used Nen to amplify the shriek because it echoed unnaturally throughout the room. Everyone at the table jumped. 

Mr. Bedoz cleared his throat. “Thank you, Jasper. Please, tell me what you saw.” 

What she saw? What did he mean by that? 

“Before I begin, may I please say something to those present at the table?” politely asked Jasper. She had a surprisingly soft voice. “Of course, my dear.” She stood up on her chair, propped herself on the table and made her way over to the center. She was petite and was wearing pajamas. She was wearing footwraps around her barefeet and scrunched her toes as she begun to speak. 

“My name is Jasper Geist. I would like to propose something so we can finish this mission with as little problems as possible. I believe we should all state our names, our abilities chosen for this mission and address the concerns of the two gentlemen who came late to the party.” The table was near unanimous with only Henri and Alistahr refusing to vote. I was relieved there was at least one diplomatic person at this table.

Jasper Geist was an Emitter who utilized her ability, Astral Journey, to detach herself from her body and travel great distances. She was asleep initially so she didn’t know who Henri and I were yet. Jasper was instructed to follow the travel route of the Gyllis and investigate any international police or potential obstacles in the way. She encountered a few ships heading southeast from our destination, but after going aboard the ships she was able to confirm they had no detection of the Gyllis Primus. Her role was just that; investigation, which suited her well as she was a renowned detective who served as a Terrorist Hunter. She was the youngest person here, having just turned 20 years old. She was a genius, and I suspected she was not revealing everything about her abilities. 

I was the second to talk. I stated my name and went into detail about the abilities I was using for this mission. I was a Conjurer as mentioned before, but I had a variety of practical objects I used. My hatsu was called “Liquid Metal; Malleable Construction” which has a blend of Transmutation and Conjuration; it was quite literally a nicely sized ball of liquid metal. I could make an object and attach conditions to it, though I could never use those objects or conditions ever again once they were dispelled. For the mission I conjured a set of small needles that when implanted in a person or object I would know where it was at all times given they are within a 200 meter space. The ship itself was over 400 meters, but this was mainly to keep track of specimen and Hunters on duty. I was also able to conjure most items with simple conditions that I could create sparingly, the small needles being one of them, which gave me great versatility. 

Henri was next. He stated his ability of enhancing or diminishing the rate of temperature in an object or person. However, he went on to talk about how this was but a secondary hatsu he developed to assist him and his comrades in war when he sabotaged enemy energy power plants and spoiling their food supplies by throwing off the temperature. His actual hatsu was more combat oriented and great for fighting large groups. By utilizing Shu and Ko on his weapons, he was able to pull a variety of devastating techniques. 

Each bullet from a gun exploded like grenades upon hit, while each grenade thrown exploded more like a bomb. His combat knife was able to slice through opponents like butter and didn’t allow blood to coagulate, meaning they would bleed out from even small wounds. He boasted his fists were enough to take on a small militia, bragging about how he once took out a group of 40 soldiers by punching each one into the wall and turning them to human mush. His Nen allowed the velocity and speed of an object thrown or punched to continue for much longer periods of time, meaning a person he punched would go great distances. 

The large muscular man next to him was actually a chemist and Chemical Element Hunter named Dr. Dom Heltwood. To my surprise, he was a Manipulator turned Specialist. Despite his large physical size, he was not as combat oriented as Henri. Dom took up bodybuilding as a sport and has won several worldwide competitions. When he achieved his prime, he realized his Nen had also changed. His original hatsu had the ability to control anything with liquid, as he was was able to control the water and blood flow in his muscles, but it later evolved into allowing him to control anything liquid, break down its structure into molecules, learn what the molecules are, and reassemble it into another element with the same atomic structure. Whether he could control the liquid in another person's body and break it down into chemicals was something he didn’t say, which left me a bit unsettled. 

Fernus Hyoko was a Beast Hunter. He functioned as an Enhancer who actually focused his Nen proficiency in Emission and Transmutation respectively. Although not a fighter, his ability was certainly useful in a fight; he is able to transmute his organs into the characteristics of any animal he can think of and use that to his advantage; he could also emit his senses around like a beast, further breaking the limits of even the sharpened senses of animals. If he so chose, he could both transmute and enhance his muscles to take on the strength of a gorilla or a tiger. His hatsu, Chimera Transcendance, allowed him to use up to three animal traits at a time, making him a human-animal hybrid with senses that exceed both animals and man. His role was to analyze any Beasts they encountered and to keep track of their surroundings.

The purple haired girl was reluctant but revealed herself. Her full name was Alistahr Houzer, who was a professional MMA fighter as well as a Martial Artist Hunter and contract bodyguard. She has founded several disciplines of martial arts based on her natural understanding of the body and flow of Nen when in combat. She was an Enhancer as well but she was pure combat oriented. Her role was essentially protecting the Hunters from any encounters with her hatsu, Fists of Glory. Depending on what stance she took, she was able to fully counter physical hits or deal devastating damage with her Nen infused martial arts. She was a one woman army and was always looking for a fight. Her role was to make sure the other Hunters were not being attacked by any creatures, but has been by Mr. Bedoz’s side for most of the trip.

The girl who was utilizing the radar jamming ability was named Jane Estrella. Her sole job was to make sure the ship remained undetected. She wasn’t a Hunter but rather an accomplice Jasper Geist recommended to bring aboard. I wasn’t too sure about their relationship with each other. Jane, despite her Nen ability, was forbidden to be in the room with us. 

Most bizarre of all, I was taken aback to find out that Mr. Faust Bedoz himself was able to use Nen. He was a Transmuter who had the ability to change his clothing at will into various sets of protective gear as well as the color of any object. He claimed it was for vanity and cosmetic purposes as he hated changing clothes and that his wife always complained about changing the color of their drapes. He had by far the most useless ability for this mission, though he didn’t strike me as someone who could use Nen. He didn’t reveal where he had learned Nen, though my intuition tells me it was in a manner most dubious indeed. He ended his explanation with the words that I had been dying to hear. 

“Well..I suppose it is time to show you what it is we found.”

 

Mr. Bedoz pressed a button on his phone and a large metallic door opened far behind us. Cold, chilling air poured out of the black abyss; there was no light to be seen inside from where I sat. It was more like the entrance to a haunted ruin than a cryo laboratory. The low humming emitting from the freezing entrance sounded like the distant bellows of a great sea beast lying in the depths. Mr. Bedoz was first to go inside, followed by Alistahr who protected the client at all times, then the rest. They grabbed their insulated jackets which had high padding and threw their hoods on. A small visor was attached, which closed the face piece. 

“I’ll have my personnel deliver your jackets at once.” muffled Mr. Bedoz through his face mask. Despite being able to “change clothes”, he had put on his jacket like the rest of the Hunters. 

“Nonsense! I think Marco and I will manage.” Henri patted my back with enough force that it borderlined on assault. 

“It’s beyond freezing in there!” I said with reluctance.  
“It’s -150 C to be exact.” replied Dom. I looked over at Henri, who was looking back at me with a cheeky smirk. 

“Do you have to touch your target for your ability to activate?” I asked? 

“Who knows.” he said in deadpan. He was a cheeky bastard, but he slowly begun to grow on me.

We walked inside and I didn’t feel anything. Of course, I was very slowly being affected by the -150 Celsius but Henri kept his hand on my back. It appeared it worked on himself as well as whatever he touched. I was able to see faint blue lights on the walls with plant life, rocks, debris, and even small dead organisms. They were rodent like, with large bat wings folded in on itself, and had two large sacks on their neck that seemed to function like lungs. 

We went deeper inside, and came to a halt. 

Mr. Bedoz stood in front of a large mass of blackness. There was no light shining on it. “You asked what it was we found.” He said through the grating sounds of his mask. I saw the light of his phone; for a moment I thought he was going to shine a flashlight on the hulking black mass that rested before us. I had briefly caught a glimpse of solid ice. As he pressed a button, several lights shone from behind and around the mass, it was revealed to be a large piece of ice; remnants of an iceberg to be exact. It must have weighed over a ton alone. But what I then saw made my heart sink.

A large red mass was observable through the ice. It was definitely humanoid, though I couldn’t make out any other limbs or appendages due to the way it was frozen. It was hunched over, almost as if it was curled up into a ball trying to protect itself. Despite being in such a position, it was gargantuan. Even while curled up, it was still much bigger than Dom who himself was easily 6’7. The ice separating us from this thing was only about 4 or 5 feet yet it felt much closer. There were tentacled masses that seemed like growths on the beast, towering 30 feet or higher.I felt something which I have never felt before; an almost fleeting feeling except my body felt like it was being carried away. I felt myself disassociating in that moment, observing this thing almost from a third person perspective as if I wasn’t in my own body. 

I couldn’t make out more precise details about the entity that was in front of me, but I could see claws at the end of its large feet and long boney fingers. There was black hair on it’s chest and a large white mane draped around it’s neck that seemed to extend to its back; I couldn’t make out its face as it was looking down. This thing was unlike anything I have ever seen. I had a quick flashback of that picture of the relief that Henri showed me just before getting on the ship, but this entity looked nothing like those creatures. 

I wondered in that moment if there were things in this world that meant to remain frozen away.


	2. Isomorphism

# Chapter Two - Isomorphism

Upon leaving the cryo laboratory, Mr. Bedoz gave us several documents. It stated our designated tasks as to par our agreement. Jasper was assigned to surveillance at designated times and was to report her findings. Dom and Henri were assigned to “Research” as written on the document; Dom was tasked with analysis, sampling his findings, and organizing the data to be observed further by the individuals studying the data in Mr. Bedoz’s high-tech meeting room. Henri would simply be holding the samples while they were out of cryo. This would go on the entire day starting tomorrow. 

Fernus was assigned to security with me, making sure everything was ok. Alistahr was of course assigned as Mr. Bedoz’s full time bodyguard and accompanied him at all times. I gave everyone my pins so that I could keep track of them and we left the high-tech meeting room.

Henri and I decided to grab some food. I was still in a dissociated state from observing the frozen red entity; something about that thing did not sit well in my stomach. I couldn’t make out if it was due to the physical superiority it had over every single one of us or if it was because of the vibe it gave off. I used Gyo to confirm if it was just my gut; I saw nothing coming from the frozen mass. I just wanted to discuss my thoughts with Henri; just what was that thing? 

Jane Estrella and Jasper met up and walked off down the corridor while Dom and Fernus were hanging back with Mr. Bedoz, presumably discussing their roles. Alistahr was also still there, due to her assignment to protect the client. We entered the large metal doors and into a surprisingly decorated cafeteria. There were several cooks and a chef working tirelessly in the kitchen. The smell was impeccable. 

“Damn. Hope the grub is ready cause I need food to calm my nerves.” chuckled Henri, stretching his arms over his head. I agreed, and asked a cook if any food was available to eat. The cook told us the chef had prepared a chaufa fried rice medley of fresh fish caught just before restocking back at the man made island as well as some sushi and meticulously crafted sweets with icing painted on by none other than a world renowned artist. The cook notified us the chef was a Gourmet Hunter whose sole purpose was to provide delicious food the remainder of the trip. 

Henri was given two massive bowls of the chaufa fried rice; it was decorated with various colorful vegetables as well as smoked house made chorizo and exotic seafood from these waters. I made sure to grab some of the fancy desserts, silverware and made my way to the table Henri picked. My stomach was yearning for food; I hadn’t realized how famished I was. Henri was already feasting on his bowl while I had just begun. 

“Man, what a day.” I said in a feigned humorous tone. Henri just grunted in response as he continued to wolf down the food in front of him. It was damned good, a delicious reminder of the value of Gourmet Hunters. 

Henri slowed down his eating and looked down at the table.   
“Marco.” He said, with a blank tone in his voice. I continued eating but watched him for a response. “In all my years in combat and fighting vicious monsters, humans worse than monsters, and seeing things no person should ever see in this world, I felt something beyond that when I saw that... thing.”

I had yet to hear Henri sound so serious. He spoke in a very militaristic manner but his voice was much softer than before. 

“Yeah, I was a bit unsettled myself.” I said, downplaying my actual feelings. My ego wanted to make myself seem much more confident than I actually felt. 

“ Unsettled? I have to have my hand on that thing and make sure the ice doesn’t thaw out! Don’t talk to me about unsettled!!” 

We both laughed heartily and ate some more. We proceeded to talk about our impressions of the people on the boat; Henri gave his stamp of approval on everyone in the meeting room but when I asked about Alistahr he seemed to be more sheepish. “She’s alright, I guess.” I didn’t think much of it. 

We parted ways and went to bed. Everyone was still detectable due to the pins I gave them. I had to get up at 6 am to assist Fernus in standard surveillance procedure. My room was very small and cramped, like on a Navy ship. I honestly didn’t care where I slept. It must have been almost midnight at this point. After showering in the bathroom down the hall, I came back to my room and collapsed. I didn’t really understand why I was so tired. I suppose switching time zones is the reason but I’ve done so consistently in the past and have gotten used to it. My mind drifted into my thoughts, which then drifted into the abstract realm of my subconscious. 

Except, something wasn’t quite right. 

I found myself in a very dark room. I tried to observe the surroundings, but it was for naught. It was not until I recognized the large black mass in front of me that I realized I was inside the cryo laboratory. My heart began to race as I anticipated to see the frozen demon once more; yet the light did not turn on. However, despite this I felt it’s presence and knew it was with me in the dark. A feeling of primal instinct rushed through me like a trapped rabbit being cornered by wolves. There was no escape. 

The sound of a horn bellowed in the darkness. It’s pitch was ominously deep, almost like the blaring of a ship's horn. It felt more and more like the announcement of something ancient and there was nothing that could be done. The bellowing got louder and louder, swimming forth from the depths of the darkness; was it some kind of monster? 

Something else was inside with us. I braced myself to be devoured or dismembered by whatever hidden thing approached me. The sky opened up and there was devastation seeping inside the cryo lab; debris, ashes, and the smell of burnt flesh descended from the crackling magma colored   
skies. A strange creature descended to me, like the Angel of Revelations came down to John, and grabbed me. I tried to use Nen but for some reason it didn’t work. It spread its infernal wings and flew up into the volcanic hell-colored sky and to my sight I had realized I was truly in a nightmare. 

Destruction of the known world laid barren across the familiar landscapes I once knew. I was gripped by the strange creature's talons which dug into my shoulders. I tried desperately to wake up but my body refused. We were heading to a structure in the distance; the geometric shapes were beyond anything that I had ever witnessed. Chanting had echoed from the structure. As the creature drew me closer to this demonic abomination, the chanting got louder and louder. I couldn’t make out the language. We flew above a large mass of people. They were emaciated, performing blasphemous rituals as a way to appease this large structure and grant them some form of peace. 

But the structure stood stoically in their suffering.

We flew high above to the top of the structure and there awaited in a throne sat an entity; no, a monster. It had mouths upon its deformed body, gnawing on small corpses. I could not help but wonder if they were dead children. It was pale, with a protruding spinal cord and a bulbous mass of flesh on its neck that seemed to act as a breathing apparatus. Upon its main head was a floating golden ball of aura which seemed to serve as a twisted version of a halo. The demonic creature dropped me there and left me with this abomination. I looked up to the horror before me; it had a mass of tentacles where its legs should be and upon its misshapen large head was a crown made of bone. I couldn’t make out any signs of compassion on its face; just mouths divided in three sections. The middle mouth swallowed its meal and spoke to me.

“Thou shalt be the great messenger. Embrace thine destiny.”

It extended its elongated neck and went in to consume me but I was met with the wailing sound of my alarm and woke up. 

My stomach felt bloated. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to eat so much before bed. As I rose and prepared for my assigned duties, I felt rather drained; my aura seemed rather normal but my focus and overall alertness were dwindled.  
Some coffee would do the trick. Upon washing up, I checked the pins I planted on the Hunters; everyone was where they were supposed to be. As I headed for the cafeteria, the nightmare I had was still fresh in my mind; I could still smell the burning flesh and the putrid smell of the bizarre entity that spoke to me. I was rather taken aback by the disturbing imagery, but recalling the words of a Disease Hunter, it was probably just the culmination of all my anxiety from recent events. It certainly made sense; the imagery of the dead child from the relief, the cryo lab, and my overall anxiety with what Mr. Bedoz found. 

Someone slapped my back. I turned and expected to see Henri but to my surprise it wasn’t. 

“Sleep well, champ?” Asked Fernus with an unnatural burst of energy. I never understood morning people.

“Not really.. I think I ate too much and didn’t really get a lot of sleep.” I muttered as I prepared my first cup of coffee. I added the sugar and cream while Fernus continued to talk.

“Yeah, I haven’t gotten a whole lot of sleep either since coming back from the Dark Continent. I guess I’m still riled up from coming back and surviving!” Fernus laughed loudly. I tried my best to hide my annoyance. 

“An impressive feat, no doubt.” I said, stirring my thick paper cup. The smell of high quality coffee calmed my body down. 

Fernus then said something that interested me. 

“Dom and I were just talking last night about how he couldn’t sleep.” He said with a slightly serious tone. “His reasoning was that he was excited to begin working on their findings.” 

I sipped the piping hot coffee; it was damned good. Fernus was quiet for a couple seconds and continued talking. 

“I did have a weird dream last night.”

I turned my head. I saw his eyes widen no doubt in reaction to the expression of shock on my own face. My heart began racing. “About what?” I asked in a feigned calm tone. I tried not to rile him up; but there is no helping morning people. 

“Well, I was a dog. Then I was visited by a young woman who said she was my deceased grandma. She wasn’t speaking in a language I knew but I understood what she was saying.” I begun to sip my coffee and calm my body down with the soothing caffeine. Fernus continued speaking. “She kept saying the phrase ‘De’zi al ma’al kurta’ repeatedly. 

De’zi al ma’al kurta...now that I think about it, it does sound familiar. Though, I wasn’t really sure where it came from. It sounded very foreign, almost middle eastern but not quite right phonetically. It was indeed a strange language but something about it sounded eerily familiar. 

Then it happened. 

I had lost trace of Mr. Bedoz. I notified Fernus and we dropped the conversation. I chugged the coffee as fast as I could and bolted out the cafeteria to the meeting room from last night; that was where Dom, Henri and Alistahr were at. Alistahr hadn’t left Mr. Bedoz side at all so he undoubtedly was still there. Fernus was using his Nen ability to track down Mr. Bedoz’s scent by transmuting his nose to that of a wolf. “He should still be in the meeting room.” said Fernus confidently. He relied on his ability for a multitude of things so I trusted his judgement. 

We burst through the doors. Everyone turned their heads to us; Dom was holding a clipboard with an assortment of papers, Henri was holding onto a large sheet of ice with small creatures and rocks, while Alistahr stood relatively close to the two. 

“Can I help you?” asked Alistahr snarkily. 

Fernus got on all fours and began sniffing around. “We came to check up on Mr. Bedoz.” 

Henri chuckled and turned his head to Alistahr; “It’s cause you’re not doing your job, now you have these two doing it for ya’!” 

She crossed her arms and made it clear in her body language she was resisting Henri’s instigation. “Mr. Bedoz left to his quarters to drop off a copy of the data we acquired in his filing cabinet. He asked me to stay behind.” 

Dom silently jotted down on his clipboard, completely detached from everything transpiring. He only cared about acquiring as much data as possible for his own personal curiosity.

“That’s impossible.” stated Fernus. “I would have smelled him in the hallway if that were the case. His most recent scent is inside this room; unless there is another way out, you’re either lying or you made a mistake.” 

I was not sure why Fernus was acting so confrontational. I didn’t realize he took himself so seriously. 

Alistahr responded in a harsh manner. “Maybe your Nen abilities aren’t as good as you think they are, little pup.” 

Fernus stood on his legs. I could sense his aggressive aura from here. “Answer me now; is there another way out of here?” 

Henri was amused by all this.“Damn wolfie, are you going to just stand there and take that?” If there was one thing I learned about Henri is that he took pleasure in causing conflict. 

“Knock it off, you three.” said Dom. 

Henri scowled at him for interrupting his fun while Fernus and Alistahr were going back and forth to satiate their own egos. Fernus was very insecure about his abilities and was trying to prove himself. 

I knew when it was time to diffuse a situation. Nobody at all seemed worried about what happened to our client. 

“We have more pressing matters to attend to then deciding whose dick is bigger than the others.” I said in annoyance. I couldn’t believe how childish they were acting. “Alistahr, I suggest you tell us if there is another way out of this meeting room so you can make our lives easier.” Alistahr paused for a moment; she still had some choice words pent up that she wanted to get out, but withheld them. “No, only the emergency exit that takes you directly to the main deck. He went through the main door.” 

Fernus was not convinced. “If he isn’t in his room, we are going to have a serious issue.” Alistahr looked at my partner with amusement. “Oh yeah? Or else what?” I could feel the aura coming from both of them now; a fight was inevitable.

I put my arm in front of Fernus. “Mr. Bedoz removed his pin. I can no longer track him; if he isn’t in his room we are holding you responsible for not escorting him to his quarters.” 

Alistahr rolled her eyes. Henri seemed to already lose interest in instigating. 

“Let’s go, Fernus.” I stated. 

He declined. “No, I’ll check on Mr. Bedoz. You make sure she doesn’t try to escape.” He bolted off on all fours and left the room. 

“Yeah, you better hope he’s in there or you’re going to have your organs plastered all over the room!!” Henri chuckled.

Alistahr turned her head toward Henri and laughed with him. How unexpected to see them get along so suddenly. They actually seem to really enjoy each other's company.

“Are you ready to proceed to the next specimen, Dr. Heltwood?” said a familiar voice. It was the young woman from yesterday who gave Mr. Bedoz those documents. 

“ Yes Dr. Yule, input this data and proceed to the next subject to be examined on the list.” He handed his clipboard to the young woman, who ran up to the second floor to give to the others inputting the data. She came back downstairs and opened the cryo lab door. Henri walked into the dark void of the entrance as Dr. Yule threw on a suit and went in with him. Just what was she up too?

I walked over to Dom, who was completely removed from the situation. “This is astounding work, Marco.” He said with excitement. 

“Oh?” I said with a slight interest. I wanted to know what it was he was so excited about. Surely they haven’t examined that monstrosity yet.

He took me upstairs to the second floor of the meeting room. A large digital image of the creatures he examined appeared. 

“Are you familiar with the term ‘isomorphism’?” 

“Nope.” I said truthfully. “Does it have something to do with shapes?” 

Dom smiled as more data shot across the digitized walls. 

“It can be; Isomorphism has multiple definitions throughout mathematics and science. Take these creatures on the wall for example; they are what biologists would call isomorphs. They biologically are near identical to the Ghuver Packrat found in most countries, yet these creatures possess wings and a strange secondary lung system within their throat.” 

The screen changed to some of the ice that was observed. “Isomorphism in chemistry is when two or more substances are found in a crystal form; this ice though not quite a crystal, possessed a wide variety of substances not known to science.” The ice on the screen then zoomed in further, revealing beautiful geometric patterns that were clearly not natural in ice patterns. “Isomorphism is also observed in shapes, like the ones you see before you.”

They were erratic and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. 

I sensed Henri walk outside the Cryo lab. “You sure you don’t need help?” I heard him say. Dom folded his hands behind his back and looked up, immersed in his thoughts. “Isomorphism is also a sociological concept that refers to how a group of people adapts to be like another group. These fall under three subcategories; the first is called normative where you adapt to norms and roles from your profession; being a Hunter you take on the social prejudices that come with being a Hunter. Look at these clowns below, always arguing about whose strongest. It’s the classic repertoire of the Hunter...to prove whose strongest.”

He glanced at Alistahr, who was sitting in a chair, arms crossed. I listened to Dom with a rather unusual focus. I suppose it was no surprise he would be so insightful. 

“The second is called Mimetic Isomorphism, in which a group imitates another group because it’s beneficial or safer. You can say that Mr. Bedoz hiring us Hunters on board is Mimetic Isomorphism so as to have that feeling of safety; I am sure he could have done this expedition with just a couple of us, but he wanted to feel he was meeting the vision in his mind as to what it meant to be ‘leading a proper expedition.’ More Hunters means the security of his own vision, not necessarily a means of efficiency. I would argue it's more counterproductive to have so many Hunters in one vessel.”

He turned around to view the main room, as did I. I saw Dr. Yule holding over her head a behemoth iceberg; it was the creature they found. 

“The third one is called coercive isomorphism. It relies heavily on another group and will die if it doesn’t meet the standard.”

I was observing the fact this young girl was lifting over a ton over her head; how many nen users were on board that I wasn’t told about?

“Well.” said Dr. Hentwood, gritting his teeth in excitement. “Time to get to work on the main course!” 

Henri shouted up to us. “Marco, get a load of this thing..you can see more of it in actual light!” 

My morbid curiosity made me run down the stairs. I looked forward and saw the large red humanoid mass. I didn’t see anything different at first. However, as I got closer I noticed a few more things. It’s claws seemed sharper than I remembered, it’s high muscle tone was slightly visible and the size of its limbs were immense. The white mane around its head still made it difficult to see its face. I actually wasn’t even sure if that was a mane or some other strange creature wrapped around it’s head. 

 

Dom screamed in excitement across the room.

“We’re going to make history!!” It was a bit unsettling to hear him with that amount of enthusiasm. 

He seemed a little too obsessed.

As he uttered those words, Fernus erupted back into the room; and he wasn’t alone. As I turned, I saw Jasper was with him. 

“What’s the deal?” grunted Alistahr, as she shot up from her seat.

“A vessel is approaching us at an unusually high speed.” Said Jasper. “We’re going to be intercepted in about 10 minutes.” I could see Fernus was calmer, but his look was much more fierce. It wasn’t until he spoke that I realized why.

“Mr. Bedoz is gone.”

“Fernus.” Shouted Alistahr. Fernus looked over at the spunky girl. “I take full responsibility for what happened. I’ll let you pound my face in after we find Mr. Bedoz.” Fernus smirked. “I appreciate the sentiments, but we have work to do.” Before I knew it, both Fernus and Alistahr sprinted out of the room. Henri let out a loud sigh as he saw her go. 

“It’s the Hunter Association.” Jasper said as she twirled her messy hair


End file.
